Manage Modified Date on your blog posts
Using the Modified Date field, you can notify your readers and search engines about the recency of your content.
The Modified at field is shown on the right side of the editor, directly below the Published at field.
The changes you make from within the post editor apply to individual posts. You can also view and manage global settings for this feature from the Settings page of your DropInBlog account.
The Modified Date settings are located in the Output section on the Settings page.
From here, you can choose which date will be displayed on your posts.
To choose one, select either Published Date or Modified Date from the dropdown under Post date display and sort preference.
To the right of the Post date display settings, you can turn Automatic modification date on or off.
By turning on the Automatic modification date toggle, the Modified Date will be updated automatically whenever you make significant changes to your content.
If you turn the Automatic modification date toggle off, you’ll need to set the Modified at date for each post manually.
We made sure that not all changes to your content are marked as significant, so minor changes like changing one or two punctuation marks will be ignored.
The following is a list of content modifications that will automatically update the Modified at date on your posts if Automatic modification date is turned on:
Increasing blog post length by 10% or more
Adding or removing two or more paragraphs
Adding or removing one or more headings
Adding an FAQ section
Changing blog post titles
We added these triggers to help you send the right SEO signals, i.e., only when you make significant content changes.
Note that you can manually edit the Modified date field for individual posts. However, we advise you to change this date only when you make meaningful content changes. If you change the Modified Date field without updating the content, you’re diminishing your SEO efforts by giving your content a false search engine freshness boost.
If you’re updating a blog post about SEO tools you wrote a couple of years ago, you can add a new section to your post discussing the updates for the current year. Turning on the Modified Date lets search engines and readers know your content is current, without needing to republish.
Will using the Modified Date delete my Published Date (and vice versa)?
Both dates are preserved. Even if you choose to show only the Modified Date on your blog, the Published Date is still retained in the backend and included in your post's schema (structured data). This ensures search engines like Google can still access the original publication date.
Can I set my blog posts to show both Published and Modified Dates?
Only one date is visible to readers. Depending on your display setting, either the Published Date or the Modified Date will be shown publicly on each post, but not both at once.
Will displaying my posts by Modified Date re-publish my post?
This doesn’t re-publish your post. Choosing to display the Modified Date does not affect your post’s position in RSS feeds, sitemaps, or DropInBlog’s publishing logic. The original publish timestamp remains unchanged.
See the content freshness tool in action:
Happy blogging!
The Modified at field is shown on the right side of the editor, directly below the Published at field.
The changes you make from within the post editor apply to individual posts. You can also view and manage global settings for this feature from the Settings page of your DropInBlog account.Modified Date settings
The Modified Date settings are located in the Output section on the Settings page.
From here, you can choose which date will be displayed on your posts.
To choose one, select either Published Date or Modified Date from the dropdown under Post date display and sort preference.
To the right of the Post date display settings, you can turn Automatic modification date on or off. By turning on the Automatic modification date toggle, the Modified Date will be updated automatically whenever you make significant changes to your content.If you turn the Automatic modification date toggle off, you’ll need to set the Modified at date for each post manually.
Significant content changes triggers
We made sure that not all changes to your content are marked as significant, so minor changes like changing one or two punctuation marks will be ignored.
The following is a list of content modifications that will automatically update the Modified at date on your posts if Automatic modification date is turned on:
Increasing blog post length by 10% or more
Adding or removing two or more paragraphs
Adding or removing one or more headings
Adding an FAQ section
Changing blog post titles
We added these triggers to help you send the right SEO signals, i.e., only when you make significant content changes.
Note that you can manually edit the Modified date field for individual posts. However, we advise you to change this date only when you make meaningful content changes. If you change the Modified Date field without updating the content, you’re diminishing your SEO efforts by giving your content a false search engine freshness boost.
Example use case for Modified Date
If you’re updating a blog post about SEO tools you wrote a couple of years ago, you can add a new section to your post discussing the updates for the current year. Turning on the Modified Date lets search engines and readers know your content is current, without needing to republish.
Common Questions about Published and Modified Dates
Will using the Modified Date delete my Published Date (and vice versa)?
Both dates are preserved. Even if you choose to show only the Modified Date on your blog, the Published Date is still retained in the backend and included in your post's schema (structured data). This ensures search engines like Google can still access the original publication date.
Can I set my blog posts to show both Published and Modified Dates?
Only one date is visible to readers. Depending on your display setting, either the Published Date or the Modified Date will be shown publicly on each post, but not both at once.
Will displaying my posts by Modified Date re-publish my post?
This doesn’t re-publish your post. Choosing to display the Modified Date does not affect your post’s position in RSS feeds, sitemaps, or DropInBlog’s publishing logic. The original publish timestamp remains unchanged.
See the content freshness tool in action:
Happy blogging!Updated on: 04/06/2025